The Office of Government Ethics is stepping out from behind the legal and policy curtain to help build a broader community, and it wants agency ethics officials and others to do the same. Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics, says a month-long series of seminars and summits is part of a broader effort to change the view of ethics oversight across government. He spoke to Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller in part one of their interview.

The STOCK Act, the revolving door, the reverse revolving door: these are the reasons why the Office of Government Ethics is being more aggressive in its training of federal employees. Over the last year, OGE has offered 238 percent more training courses and hours then the year before. In part two of their interview, Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics, told Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller how OGE is managing through this volatile environment.

Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics, said the agency is focusing on three areas in order to improve ethics training across government: communication, direct support to agency ethics officials and oversight.

The National Government Ethics Summit, sponsored by the Office of Government Ethics, highlighted basic and advanced training for federal ethics officials, as well as broader subjects, such as whistleblower retaliation, the Hatch Act and other legal issues. Walter Shaub, the director of OGE, wants training sessions such as these to bring the federal ethics community closer together.

Walter Shaub Jr. said the STOCK Act could cause unintended consequences for federal employees' privacy and safety. Shaub said he favors revisions aimed at striking a balance between the need to protect personal information and the law's requirement to disclose stock trades.